Paul's POV
I wasn't prepared to see her invite someone closer to her when she had walked away from me. My wolf didn't understand it, although Paul Lahote the human did. I was being a flirtatious pervert who she didn't even know yet. Bella hadn't even walked away in a bitchy way. Rage at rejection was just so easy, too difficult to deny.
At the end of the day, the growl crept through my throat as a result of being Paul Lahote, the hothead of the pack. I hadn't put much work into rejecting that aspect of my personality before, never had a reason to. I lived alone and didn't have to deal with people that weren't pack. It occurred to me just then, that maybe it was time to put in more work because Bella, despite proving not being as fragile physically as everyone thought, looked frightened.
She could fight, but she wasn't a fighter.
I knew it just then at that instant, with her normally flushed cheeks going pale and muscles tensing almost imperceptibly under all those damn clothes she always wore. Bella had seen more fights than us, and she hated them. That revelation alone made my fury purge itself from my body.
"Paul, if you can't handle it, then get out. You know the deal." Sam's voice was hard, his patience growing thin with such an asshole maneuver displayed in front of Emily.
The others stared at me with old, tired eyes.
"I know, sorry. Good now." I held my hands up in surrender and tried best to keep the shame out of my voice. I turned to Bella, showing my best genuine smile, "Sorry about that."
Her face eased and her thin, frail-looking body gave a relaxed shrug. "You should see me on full moons." She joked.
"What happens?" Jared asked. Jared's eyes, always laid-back and happy, skimmed over the girl. My sort of imprint was pretty in a quiet, haunting way with her long dark hair and eyes that always whispered secrets. She wore a plain gray T-shift and jean shorts that were a perfect length to showcase surprisingly sleek, muscled legs.
I recalled my first analogy describing her as a rabbit. It fit.
Bella gave a big grin and flexed her bandaged arms cutely. "I get pretty hormonal."
Emily laughed and so did everybody else. I just wanted to know what kind of hormones Cousin It was packing, either good or bad, it all sounded intriguing. Everything about the girl I hated all but a week ago was.
Bella stayed behind with Emily when we left for patrol. Sam wanted to take her along for research purposes, but Bella had gently told him that her strength was at about half for another few days and that she would just be a liability. I appreciated her honesty, and again wondered at her selfless practicality. None of the pack, including Sir Alpha, ever told the others when they weren't suitable for a job. All of the times that I had fallen asleep when I'd been alone on patrol paid testament to that.
Jake was already phasing back as the rest of us shot off to our routes and was excited in seeing Bella. The only bummer to his mood was that Sam had ordered him to give me and Bella space to explore our bond. Apparently the fellow Neanderthal couldn't share either, but I had taken more initiative to at least try than he had. I was an interloper to his Bells, the inhumanly beautiful fantasy girl that didn't even resemble my imprint. He needed time to get over it, and a chance to understand that the fantasy did not exist.
I still felt like shit about it though because Jake's feelings were, for the most part, justified.
That hadn't stopped me from sneaking into the Black house and getting her number from Billy's phone book the day after I saw her eyes.
Bella's POV
Emily reminded me of Angela, which made me happy but sad at the same time. I had to stop being so depressed at school and reach out to her again. In my head, Angela was the human version of me and I'd been doing her a favor by not coming around. She had Ben, a living boyfriend and best friend rolled into one, and I was a depressed loser; It wasn't her job to be my pick-me-up.
The irony of that thought quickly showed itself when Jacob came into the room, a grumpy look on his face. It cleared when he saw Emily and me on the couch watching Dateline and laughing.
"Hey Jake, what we gonna do today?"
Jacob grinned, "Whatever you want, Bells, I have the night off."
"Cliff diving." The activity had been on my bucket-list for a long time, and there was no one else I'd rather go with.
"There's no reason to do that now, is there?" Jake frowned.
It didn't take long to come up with an answer as I got up from the couch and stretched leisurely, "I think it'd be fun and I don't have to pretend to be klutzy anymore. Seeing you guys do it made me so jealous. I'm hardly breakable, Jake."
Jake's face clouded with worry and I knew he was probably wondering why my mental health had been so off. I hadn't been faking that. Waving bye to Emily who was still enthralled in the show, we made our way to my truck.
The drive was a quick and quiet one, and Jake kept glancing at me in concern. I took a deep, relaxing breath and really felt more at peace with myself than I had in a long time.
Hope did the strangest things, and it was distant hope that it could someday heal me into a person who isn't shattered and so terribly broken.
When we stopped at First Beach, it was an instant gratification to see it almost empty. Despite my new ability to not act in front of Jacob, I didn't need tales reaching Charlie's ears that I was jumping cliffs when I was supposed to be doing community service. He would be infuriated. We sprang out of the car and looked at the peaceful waves and water, and I bounded up and down on my heels in excitement.
"What about your bandages?"
I paused, considering them because they were the only reason I'd gotten to wear short sleeves today. The habit had been in practice ever since I'd moved to Forks, and it was a constant source of annoyance. I didn't know how people would react if they saw what laid beneath the fabric.
Maybe you can change. A tiny voice, one that I wanted so much to be my own, whispered.
"Jake, would you lose your temper if I showed you?" My voice was small and hopeful, because freedom was really what I wanted. To be open with people about who I was.
"Show me what, sweetie?" His big hand swept my hair back in a non-platonic way, and I wondered at my stupidity in agreeing to try for him before all this madness happened. I needed a friend right now.
"Jake, I want you to see my arms for the first time, but you won't like it. I want to dive off that cliff as myself."
"They can't be that-"
"They will be bad to you, you'll hate them." I interrupted him strongly, "I need you to be okay with them, because to me they are marks of honor. To my people, they are marks of bravery. They are the best and worst parts of me, and not for a second will I ever regret them." My heart was pounding in my ears, so frightened by the flinch that my best friend would give.
Jake looked at me with such surprise and wariness in his eyes, it was like he was seeing me, truly me for the first time. "Okay, Bella, but run if I get dangerous. I'll do my best."
His "Bella" and not "Bells" is what convinced me.
I undid those silly bandages I no longer needed with my back turned to him. And then I turned around at my fastest speed, wanting to rid this world of my shame that just wasn't there.
And Jacob collapsed to his knees while shaking uncontrollably, and whispered "Oh Bells, sweetie, no." His broken voice destroyed me on the inside and my confidence in his ability to truly see me as a woman and not a cute, delicate, poor toy was pulverized in that instant.
My rage overcame me and I screamed, and punched him in the face with all of my might. Jake landed several meters away, still shaking and looking at me with rapid, horror-filled, piteous eyes. "Get the hell out of here, Jacob! Th-this coddling won't help me anymore! I'm p-proud of these." My scream turned into a sob at the end.
The tears didn't fall and I spat on the ground in front of the shaking boy while wiping my suddenly running nose. Rage escaped me and suddenly we were still on First Beach, the birds still chirping. But everything had changed slightly, shifting in ways that were difficult to identify.
I turned my back on Jacob, who was starting to grow fur in the strong emotions that weren't his to have. "Jacob, I'll speak with you later at Emily's house tomorrow, get out before someone sees you. I still need to dive off this cliff."
The sounds of him scampering off were distant as I took my shirt off to reveal the beautiful tank top I had always wanted to show off. I would need dry clothes for the ride home. My shorts went too and I thanked God that my cotton underwear was black.
I wanted these wolves to know me, really know me, my scars, my precious szőlő, and all. Hiding was over. I was weak in strange ways, strong in others, my soul was battered and bruised and had felt such love that the ground had swallowed me whole and crushed me till there was almost nothing left. I was a honorless coward who hid behind others once, and I was here now to live how I always wanted.
Something wild inside me called me here. I didn't know what quite yet.
I sprinted at human speed towards the edge of the cliff and dove how I always dreamed I could. The cool air kissed my cheeks and the plummeting feeling made my stomach clench in pure joy. I sailed through the air, and my szőlő let their presence thrum throughout. The hit to the water felt as though I was being born anew.
I swam to the shore in confident strokes and stood quickly to retrieve my clothes.
But someone stood proudly on top of them with his foot, and his eyes drank me up slowly. "You, I must admit, are the most gorgeous Cousin It I have ever seen, rabbit. Those marks might be a little gnarly out of context, and you might be a little too skinny for my tastes, but still you're so gorgeous."
"Well, I'm giving quite a show and I'm sure people will get here soon. Maybe they'll agree with you." I found myself saying the dare.
The man laughed and his eyes still took his time finding mine and I found myself reacting to the sound with a strange hunger. I wanted to hear it again. "I can take my clothes off too and we can give them a really good show, my fantastic ass will distract all the others."
"Well, I saw that ass and would have to solemnly agree. Everyone would be distracted." I tried to make the word distracted into an insult.
Paul merely smiled at that remark sweetly. That odd reaction knocked itself into hyperdrive and I focused on not allowing a blush to accumulate. I needed a win for once. I leaned forward and bent completely to retrieve my clothes.
His jaw dropped and any pressure he had applied to pinning the items diminished. I slipped everything on efficiently and bowed elaborately. It was nice to feel this way.
I smiled at him and jangled my keys teasingly. "I would love to stay and put on that show, but Charlie needs me to cook some dinner."
Paul stretched in an almost feline pose casually, "I think a one-man show will definitely lock this whole beach down, rabbit. No need to worry."
I blinked, there it was again, that odd nickname. The option to ignore was selected when Paul approached me in a slow prowl, a playful glint hinting at mischief in his eyes.
"You know, rabbit." He said casually, seeming to inspect his mitt of a hand for dirt, "us Protectors hear each others' thoughts in wolf form. That's how come I knew where your clothes were at."
I froze. Crap. While I was still angry at Jacob, everyone knowing about me screeching at him was more than a little embarrassing.
"It's also why I didn't look at those scars and that odd almost half-body tattoo you have twice. Little preemptive warning. Black was a mess, worrying about you, thinking you were nuts because of what you said. For a fraction of a second, I was a mess too. And I must admit, I found those words insane too."
Nerves once again shot through me and this time I couldn't quite pinpoint why his words were making me feel this way. Why should I care what he thinks about me?
Paul took an even closer step to me. "And I also found what you said to be pretty damn strong too. And you're right, those scars are signs that you are still here, and whatever you were fighting for was worth it. And to me, rabbit, that's both a turn-on and a sign to never piss you off.
Strong arms enveloped around me and held me tight for a few seconds. Then, Paul sauntered off towards the forest, his steps languid and sure.
"By the way, I'm calling you later. You're welcome."
He didn't look back while I wondered how in the world he had gotten my number.
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Writing this was fun, especially as Bella had her moment!
What'd you think of the Bella/Jacob fight? She was kinda mean, but was it necessary?
Will Paul and Bella come together?
Feel free to vote, comment likes/dislikes, and follow!
Thanks for reading!